Or is it a case of Mourinho’s tactics ruining another attacking player? I’m pretty sure Pogba would be a different player if you put him in that Guardiola’s City with movement and runs all around him

Absolutely not a case of tactics in my view.

Pogba clearly is not on board with doing the duties of a CM which involves the dirty side of the game i.e defensive work, in that Spurs game he hung Matic out to dry and that’s what Jose was taking issue with.

For the kind of money they paid he should not have to be babysat in the middle of the park by playing with two other midfielders, in fact he should be able to play in a 2, a 3 and even further forward as a #10 if required and be able to play the roles to a high level. I’m not blaming Jose for this at all. Sure playing in a 2 requires more discpline and not the opputunity to bomb forward all the time, however, that means you should be able to dictate and control the flow of the game for your team whilst working defensively in tandem with your CM partner. Pogba cannot do this either because he’s unable to ( maybe unlikely) or simply thinks he’s too big to do it which is funny because he hasn’t achieved shit for United and has a hell of a lot to prove.

If you’re considered a top midfielder you should be highly adaptable, KDB, Gundogan, Kroos, Thiago, Eriksen Modric, Fernandinho are all midfielders I’d rather have and would all give much more when playing in a 2 than Pogba. For the most part he is essentially a highlight reel player but when you look closely at games you see he is prone to dumb decisions and lacks consistency in addition to tactical flexibility.

Demonstrates how much Pogba is overrated, he’s a big talent but he’s not up there with the best CM’s in world football, world class midfielders are incredibly adaptable. Put KDB in a two and he’s giving you a hell of a lot more, Eriksen too is giving you more productivity and consistency in that role.

The same issue exists for France, if they just play him and Kante in the midfield they won’t have a great tournament at the world cup.

Darkseid:

Pogba clearly is not on board with doing the duties of a CM which involves the dirty side of the game i.e defensive work

Quite right.
If I was a manager and I was given a midfielder worth 80-90m and one on 300k or so wages; I had expect him to execute every duties a midfielder is supposed to do.

Why should clubs pay such huge amount and also need to hand hold him through his flaws.

All CM’s have to help out defensively, how can you be a b2b midfielder by trade and not be willing to defend or be able to play in a 2?

This isn’t a case of not playing to one’s strengths, if all this is true it’s as if he thinks the PL is lucky to have him because he’s Paul Pogba. He’s simply not willing to get with the program and improve his game, it’s a player issue not a coach issue.

He’s an attacking midfielder though really isn’t he who excels in a midfield three, so I don’t see the point in spending £90m on him and then asking him to do defensive work in a two. If you’re going to spend that much money then you aren’t exactly restricted in your ability to buy a player who is adept defensively, if that is what you want. So I do think it’s a case of not playing to his strengths really, because you’re demanding things from him that aren’t his strengths.

Not really defending him though as he has always had the air of an arrogant cunt with a shitty attitude imo. Don’t like him at all.

In my view Pogba isn’t an attacking midfielder, he doesn’t post up those kind of numbers or have those instincts, he’s a b2b player that’s supposed to do a bit of everything and not a lot of one particular thing.

He should be able/willing to do both sides of the game, of course United bought him and should have known how he plays but as a young player with supposed world class potential you’re also supposed to improve and adapt your game.

He is still the player they bought from Juve and I don’t see that changing anytime soon, which is a problem if you’re United because the money they spent should get you a player that will be a piece on the board that aids in competing with City.

Maureen is doing his very best to destroy the team dynamic. After all he has done the most he usually does with his contract, just enough to get a new one but now he tuns to an absolute cancer to the club so he can get his massive payoff so he can fuck off elsewhere and leave the club he was at in tatters then poaches some of the players off them for his new club. Its almost as if he has done this before a few times…like a broken record with him.